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Prospective Graduate Student Chat, Oct 3, 2019
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Guest
10:38
Hi will, currently I'm a little bit confused because on the one hand, I'm considering that I finished my CIS545 and CIS419 of this semester in UPenn and apply in the regular round to show my  performance and learning ability but on the other hand, the early intake would have advantage over other round. In fact I have already finished GRE and TOEFL so I really don't know whether I should apply for the early round... Or if I don't receive the offer in the early round, can I apply for the regular still?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:40
Guest, I do understand. Just so you are aware, you are able to update your transcripts after you apply, so if you get grades for the current courses before you receive a decision, you can update that transcript with those courses. Unfortunately, if you are not admitted during the first round, you cannot apply for the same program during the regular round. You would have to apply to a different master's program, or wait a year.
Ashish Mittal
10:38
Thanks for the reply Will, My course was entirely instructed in English. What are the eligibility tests I need to take up?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:41
Ashish, is your school's medium of instruction English, or just your course? If it's your school, then you would not need to provide TOEFL/IELTS scores, and just GRE. If it's just your program, and not your full school, you would need to provide TOEFL/IELTS scores AND GRE scores.
Sachin
10:41
I would be okay if I were accepted into the MS in MEAM program but the prof I wanted wasn't accepting students. However, I'm worried that if I mention only their name in my SOP, the committee may reject me because of it. Should I mention other profs/projects just in case?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:42
Sachin, if they think you are good enough to admit, you'd be admitted. Listing a professor does not guarantee that you will be working with that professor. You can also explain in your personal statement whether or not you'd be willing to come to the program if you didn't get the professor, but DID get your specific area of focus.
Ashish Mittal
10:41
Also, are there any financial aids provided to international students? Or if I can self fund my studies by working?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:42
Ashish, we only provide funding for PhD students.
Emily
10:42
Thank you for the clarification Will! One more question: if I'm taking online courses for credit at different universities but it's not part of any special program, in the application when it asks for program start/end date, would I put the class start/end dates instead?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:43
Emily, yes, you would. Sorry that I didn't answer that the first time you asked it.
Guest
10:42
Thank you so much!
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:43
You're welcome!
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:44
Where would you plan to live?
On campus (50% | 3 votes)
 
Off campus, but near UPenn (16.7% | 1 vote)
 
Off campus in West Philadelphia/University City (0% | 0 votes)
 
Off campus in Center City/Downtown (0% | 0 votes)
 
I have no idea, help! (33.3% | 2 votes)
 
Total Votes: 6
Emily
10:44
No problem - thanks so much for the help!
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:44
My pleasure!
Ashish Mittal
10:45
Thanks, Will. My entire school's medium was English. And would I be allowed to work while studying?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:47
Ashish, ok, then you don't need to provide TOEFL/IELTS scores. And if you are an international student, you should be able to work an on-campus position, but that would be it. As an international student, you're also required to maintain full-time status as a student, so it might be very difficult to balance an full-time job and at least 3 courses each semester.
John
10:45
Hi Will, may I know the recommended word limit for the personal statement of MSE data science program?
Daffy
10:47
Hi will
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:47
Hi Daffy. What questions do you have for us today?
Daffy
10:48
hi will , how important is the letter of recommendation from my project mentor .....I’ve already got 2 lors from my college professors
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:49
Daffy, if they can speak to your ability to do quality research and complete a project, then I would definitely recommend having them submit a letter, especially if you want to apply for a PhD program.
Daffy
10:49
is it fine if I take the 3rd lor from my college professor itself ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:50
No, they will need to submit the letter using the online form that they are sent when you put their name and contact info into the application system.
Pragya Jaiswal
10:49
Hi Will,
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:50
Hi Pragya, what questions do you have?
Guest
10:50
Hi will
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:50
Hi Guest.
Ashish Mittal
10:50
What type of Visa do I need to avail as I'm from India and will I be allowed to come back in between for holiday?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:51
Ashish, you would apply for a student Visa, usually the J-1. You can find more info here: https://global.upenn.edu/isss/immigration
Daffy
10:51
Ok thank you 😊
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:51
You're welcome!
Pragya Jaiswal
10:51
Hi Will, I am from India and have a 3 year B.Sc. degree in Statistics in addition to a 2 year M.Sc. degree in Computer Science. Does this make me eligible to apply to the Data Science program?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:52
Pragya, yes, we do accept 3 year degrees, especially if you also have a master's degree as well.
Linghao Yang
10:51
Hi Will, I want to apply to MCIT. Right now my gre score is not high. Should I apply as early as possible(early round) or should I take gre one more time and apply in regular round? Thanks
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:53
Linghao, we do look at all parts of the application when conducting a review. However, if you believe that a better score would make you more competitive, I'd recommend doing that, as the MCIT program only took approx 10% of applicants last year.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:51
Have you been to UPenn or Philadelphia?
Yes, I live here (0% | 0 votes)
 
Yes, both (11.1% | 1 vote)
 
Philadelphia, but not UPenn (11.1% | 1 vote)
 
The US, but not Philadelphia (11.1% | 1 vote)
 
I've never been to the US (66.7% | 6 votes)
 
Total Votes: 9
Sachin
10:53
Does UPenn divide its MS in MEAM admits into different categories? For example, do you only take max 30 robotics students, max 20 FEM students, max 30 thermal students, etc? Or do you accept a fixed amount and let students choose whatever they wish?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:53
Sachin, I'm sorry, but that is not information that I can share at this time.
Ashish Mittal
10:53
What is the acceptance rate among the two deadlines and when is the apt time to apply? Is there any preference given to the early applicants?
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